Head for a jeweler&#39;s polishing machine



Jan. 28, 1-958 G. PHANARA 2,321,052

HEAD FOR A JEWELERS POLISHING MACHINE Filed Oct. 24, 1956- s Sheets-S heet 1 INVENTOR:

A'liTOR%Z@ Jan. 28, 1958 G. PHANARA 2,821,052

HEAD FOR A JEWELERS POLISHING MACHINE Filed Oct. 24, 1956 -e Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR:

Geo/"ye PA anal-a Jan. 28, 1958 G. PHANARA 7 HEAD FOR A JEWELERS POLISHING MACHINE Filed Oct. 24. 1956 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 m6 m V m Jan. 28, 1958 G. PHANARA 2,821,052

HEAD FOR A JEWELERS POLISHING MACHINE e Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 24, 1956 INVENTOR:

eor e /mnar ATTORIZZ Jan, 28, 1958 G. PHANARA HEAD FOR A JEWEL-ERS POLISHING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 24,1956

KNVENTOR'.

620/76 fian ara ATTOR Jan. 28, 1958 ca. PHANARA 2,821,052

HEAD FOR A JEWELER'S POLISHING- MACHINE Filed Oct. 24, 1956 a Sheets-Sheet e gill United This invenfion relates to improvements in jewelers polishing machines and more particularly to an improved head therefor, sometimes referred to as the polishing head. My invention is particularly adapted for use as an attachment to, or as a replacement for, the conventional polishing head of a jewelers polishing machine.

The polishing head of a conventional jewelers polishing machine, rotates at high speed in a vertical plane, and is driven by a horizontally supported shaft. Lapping and polishing intricate, fragile, and expensive, articles of jewelry, against tools rotating at high speed in a verticai plane, without damaging such articles, demands the art of thoroughly experienced, and highly skilled, craftsmen. Conventional polishing machines require the craftsman to adjust the article to be lapped, or polished, relative to the lapping, or the polishing, tool, thus subjecting the craftsman to physical strain and physical discomfort while working.

One object of this invention is to enable relatively unskilled, and relatively inexperienced, persons, to lap, and to polish, articles of jewelry, without injury or damage to said articles.

Another object is to obviate the physical strain and the physical discomfort heretofore suffered by the craftsmen while simultaneously facilitating the lapping, and the polishing, operations.

Another object is to reduce the time heretofore required to lap articles of jewelry without in any way impairing the quality of the workmanship.

Another object is to increase the output of the craftsmen while simultaneously substantially reducing the percentage of articles rejected for damage.

Another object is to adjust the tool relative to the work.

Another object is an attachment for converting the conventional jewelers polishing machine, into a polishing machine embodying my improvements, at slight expense.

Another object is a polishing head for the conventional jewelers polishing machine, which head is variously adjustable to the work.

Another object is a jewelers polishing head attachment of but few and simple parts, which is relatively light in weight, easy to adjust relative to the work, which can be manufactured at low cost, which can be assembled, installed, adjusted, repaired and maintained by relatively unskilled labor, and which is very eflicient, strong, and durable, in use.

Other objects will appear in the detailed description which follows.

In the drawing, Fig. l is a vertical cross sectional view of a polishing head assembly embodying my invention, showing certain of the parts partially broken away.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the gear-cup assembly of said polishing head assembly, with the adapter, and sealing, plates, removed, and showing certain of the parts in section and partially broken away.

atent Fig. 3 is a horizontal cross sectional view of a portion of the gear-cup assembly, taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a detailed view showing a shaft and its ballbearing assembly.

Figs. 5 and 6 are front views of the cover, and adapter, plates.

Fig. 7 is a front view of one type of jewelers polishing machine with my improved head installed upon one of the ends thereof in operative position, it being under stood however that a similar head suitably modified may be similarly installed upon the opposite end of said polishing machine where dual operation is desired.

Fig. 8 is an end view of the polishing head of Fig. 7 illustrating a range of adjustment of the head.

Fig. 9 is a view of another form of adapter plate.

Fig. 10 is a cross sectional view thereof taken along the line 1ll10 of Fig. 9, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 11 is a section taken at 11-11 of Fig. 12; and

Fig. 12 is an enlarged elevational view of the oil seal.

The gear cup is a bell shaped casting which flares outwardly and laterally from its crown or dome 21 to provide a skirt 22 which terminates in an outwardly or laterally projecting flange 23. A neck 24 extends from the wall of the skirt 22, said neck being cast integral with the bell shaped casting of the gear cup. The crown 21 of the gear cup is provided with a central opening 25 through which protrudes the boss or hub 26 of a metal bevelled gear 27. The neck 24 is bored out to receive the ball races 28 which contain the ball bearings 29, 29 for rotatably supporting the stepped shaft 30. The lower ball race 28 is seated upon an annular flange 31 (Fig. 1) formed in the lower end of the neck 24 and thus supports the lower shoulder of the stepped shaft 30, while the upper ball race 28 is contained between the upper shoulder of stepped shaft and a downwardly projecting annular flange formed upon the ring collar 32 which collar is secured to neck 24 by screws 65. The reduced end 33 of shaft 30 protrudes above ring collar 32 to afford free access to the internally threaded socket 34 whereon the tapered spindle 76 (Fig. 7) of a lapping tool 78 may be mounted.

The reduced inner end 35 of the shaft 30 extends inside the gear cup 20, and to the said inner end 35 is secured a fiber gear 36 lined with a sleeve of some suitable metal such as the brass sleeve 37. Fiber gear 36 and its sleeve 37 are secured to the inner end 35 of the stepped shaft 30 by a set screw 38. Fiber gear 36 is in mesh with metal gear 27 by which it is driven by means of a drive shaft 39 of the polishing machine (Fig. 7), as hereinafter more fully described.

The shaft 39 extends through the gear cup 20 and the hub 26 of metal gear 27, the gear being locked to the shaft 39 by set screws 40, 40. Lubricating oil is introduced into the gear cup 20 through an inlet port 41 by removing the screw plug 42 therefrom; and an oil drainage port 43 may be opened by removing the screw plug 44 therefrom, to facilitate the drainage of the oil, and the screw plug 44 may then be screwed back into the internally threaded drainage port 43, before lubrication is renewed by introducing fresh oil through the internally threaded inlet port 41 and screwing the plug 42 back in place.

The lateral flange 23 is rabbeted adjacent the outer rim thereof to form a shouldered or stepped seat 45 for the adapter plate 46. At the inner edge of flange 23 a rabbet of lesser diameter is cut to form a stepped seat for a sealing plat 47. The seat 48 for the sealing plate 47 is drilled and tapped at a plurality of points '49, 49 to receive the screws 50, 50 by which the sealing plate 47 is secured in its seat 48. To effect a more perfect oil -seal,.the seat 48 is lined with a coating of a suitable cement 51 before the sealing plate 47 is nested therein and the screws 50, 50 screwed into place.

The-sealingiplate 47 is provided with a centralopening 52 through which the driveshaft 39 passes into the gear cup-'20; and theopening 52 is counterbored to provide a seat 53 for a rubber ring 54 and its associated annular coiled spring 55, said rubber ring and annular coiled spring coacting to form an oil seal between the shaft 39 and the'sealing plate 47,.to prevent passage of oilfrom the oil bath contained by the, gear cup 20.

The adapter plate 46 is also provided with a central opening56 through. which the drive shaft 39 passes, and with ase'ries of radially disposed counterbored holes 57, 57 which accommodate the machine screws. 58, 58' by which the adapter plate 46 and the hub plate 59 are both secured to the frame 60 of the polishing machine 61. The structure of the adapter plate 46 and its mode'of attachment to the journal box or to the hub plate, etc., of the frame 66 of the polishing machine varies with the variations in the structure of the different polishing machines in common use. In the polishing machine 61 (Fig. 7), the hub plate 59 terminates in a boss 62, and in order to accommodate the adapter plate 46 to the boss 62, a series of spacing bushings 63'are provided to receive the machine screws 58, 58 and to space the adapter plate 46 away fromthe boss 62. Each bushing 63 isreduced at one-end thereof tofit into one of the: counter-bored holes in the hub plate 59 which holes are spaced to register with the threaded holes 64 which receive the screws 58 and thus anchor the adapter plate 46 to the frame 60 of the polishingrnachine 61.

Two oppositely positioned, radially disposed, arcuate channels 70, 70 extending concentric with the axis of rotation. of the drive shaft 39, are formed through the lateral flange 23 of the gear cup 20, and through each of the said channels 70 a headed machine screw 71 passes inwardly-from the outside face of the lateral flange 23 and-issthreadedinto ascrew hole -72 formed in the adapter plate 46 (Fig. 6).. Thus. when the. adapter plate 46 is seated upon the stepped seat 45 so that the screw holes 72, 72 in the adapter plate are in alinement with the arcuate channels 70, 70 the gear cup 20 and the plate 46 are. in position of cooperative registry, and the screws 71, 71 may be passed through the channels 70, 70 and screwed into. the screw holes 72, 72 to rockably mount the gear. cup 20 audits enmeshed gears 27, 36 upon the adapterplate 46.

The screw holes 72, 72 are so positioned relative to the counterbored holes 57,. 57 of the adapter plate 46, that Whenthe. adapter plate is anchored to the frame 66 of polishing; machine 61 with thedrive shaft 39 passing through the central opening 56in said adapter plate 46, and the gear cup assembly is mounted upon the drive shaft 39 and'brought into position of cooperative registry with 'the adapter plate 46 to receive the headed-screws 71,. 71, the gear cup assembly may be rocked uponithe shaft-139 relative to the adapter plate 46, to effect angular displacement of the shaft 30 of the gear cup assembly from a vertical position (Fig. 7) through any desired angle within an arc of 90 degrees, to 'aihorizontal position (Fig. 8).. Thechannel's 70,70 are so positioned and so limited, that when the. shoulders of the headed. screws 71, 7'1 engage the diagonally. opposite end's'offtheir'respective channels 70, 70 the gear cup assembly'willbe' in one or the other of its two extreme positions'namely eitherin a vertical position as shown in bold lines inFigs, 7" and'S; china horizontal position as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 8. Since the headed screws 71, 71 and the arcuate channels 70, 70 cooperate to limit the. angular movement bf the gear cup' assembly to an arc' of 90degrees, the angul'ifi"displacement of the shaft 30rel'ative1-to the 'drive '3-9 i'ssimilarlylimiteclto. arr-arc of .90 degrees from aver-tibial, to aho'rizont'al, position, and back again. After .the gear cup assembly has been adjusted to the desired position, the headed screws 71, 71 are made up tight against the outer face ofthe lateral flange 23' to lock the gear cup assembly and its shaft 30 in the angular position selected.

In some types of polishing machine the conventional drive shaft 39 is not long enough to extend through the adapterplate 46 and the gear cup assembly into the boss 26 of the metal gear 27. If the drive shaft 39 is too short, it. may belengthened by an extension shaft 73 provided with a male threaded lug 74 sized to screw into the threaded socket formed atthe'outer end of the drive shaft39: Therextension shaft 73 is-made long enough to pass through the boss of the metal gear 27 and to protrude therebeyond through the opening in the crown 21 of the gear cup 29. Extension shaft 73 is provided at its free outer end with a threaded socket '75 of the same size as the threaded socket 34 of the shaft 30.

A tapered andscrew threaded spindle76 is provided with a male threadedtlug, 77 sized tothread into either of the sockets 34 and: 75, so that. the. spindle 76 may. be mounted. to "rotate either with the driveshaft 39 about, a horizontal axis, or with-the shaft about a vertical, an

7 inclinedorahorizontal, axis, as determinedrby theadjustment impartedto. thegear its adapter.plate.-46..

For lapping a lappingtool 78. (Fig. 8) maybe-attached to the tapered. spindle 76, and. by adjusting the, angular. position ofJthegear cup assembly upon its adapter plate, the craftsman. may bring the lapping tool 73 to the work in whatever angular. position or. plane is best. suited. to effect efiicient lapping of the work with. a minimumof discomfort to the craftsman, andminimum riskofdamage to the article to belapped.

For polishing,.a. polishing tool. 79 may'be mounted upon the tapered spindle 76h (Fig. '7), to allow the tool'l79 'to spin in a vertical plane while. the work is-tpoli'shed, or,

cup assembly relative to if desired, the. polishing tool. may be mounted uponthe.

tapered spindle 761(Fig. 7.), and. adjusted to the work at any angle desired (Fig. 8), as in lapping.

Thehub 26 of. the metal gear-27 which is mounted upon the driveshaft 39,-spi'ns freely in the openingo'ffthe crown 21,. and opening 25' is counterboredto provide a shoulderedseat for'an oil sealing device. {consisting of the rubber ring. 80, annular coiled spring '81, and channeled washer 82,. which coact to provide an 'oilseal between the hub 26 ofthe gear '27" and the flange of the gear' cup. 20, thus preventing oil from e'sca'pjingfrom theoil bath contained by the gear cup 20.

The ball races 28,]28'are so constiructed'th'at the oil can not escape along the shaft 30. Thus, when fully' assembled in operative position (Figs. 7 and 8f), the polish ing head seals the gear lubricating oil inside the gear cup assembly, and the oil is retained inside the gear cup chamber until such time as-the oil' inlet, or the oil drainage, port, is opened, by unscrewing one or both screw plugsi42and/or44.

Another construction of'adapter' plate for installation upon another and different type of polishing machine is shown in Figs. 9' and 10. The adapter plate is provided with a centralopenin'g 56a for passage of the drive shaft, and with a'series'of countersunk holes 86 to receive the machine screwsbywhich the adapterplateSS-is attached to the hub of the bearing 'for-the-d'rive shaft. The annular channel 8'7 fits over a' collar upon the frame of the polishing machine, and the ring 88 engages the'housing of the ball race carrying theball-bearingsbywhich the shaft is suspended. The holes 72a are so arr-anged'th'at when the adapter' plate is secured in proper position upon the frame-of the polishing machine, the headed screws 71' ("Fig-8) engage -in -the arcuate channels 70, 70 in the proper position to permit rocking motion ofthe gear cup assembly '26 about-thedrive shaft'of-the polishing' machine. 7 I Polishing machines arealso equippedwitha polishing head mounted upon the'opposite endsof the drive shaft,

so that two craftsmen may lap and polish off the same drive shaft. In Fig. 7 only one polishing head is shown. In the assembly shown in Fig. 7, the extension shaft 73 and the spindle 76a would be provided With a left hand thread, and the spindle 76 would be provided with a right hand thread. The equivalent assembly for the opposite end of the polishing machine would require an extension shaft and spindle mounted thereon having a right hand thread, and a spindle mounted upon the end of shaft 30 having a left hand thread. Similarly the location of the holes 72, 72 in the adapter plate 46 (Fig. 6), and of the holes 72a, 72a in the adapter plate 85 (Fig. 9) shifts to conform with the end of the polishing machine upon which the gear cup assembly 20 is designed to be mounted.

What is claimed is:

In a polishing head attachment adapted to be driven by the drive shaft of a jewelers polishing machine and in combination, a bell shaped casting, said casting having a crown portion, a skirt flaring laterally outwards from said crown portion and terminating in an annular flange projecting laterally outwards from said skirt, said crown portion and said skirt in conjunction defining a substantially bell shaped chamber, and said annular flange defining the bell mouth, said casting including a neck portion positioned between said crown portion and said bell month, said neck portion merging with and protruding radially outwardly from said skirt portion and forming a shaftway connecting with said chamber, a first shaft journalled to rotate in said shaftway, said shaft having an inner end extending into said chamber and an outer end projecting beyond the outer end of said neck portion, the outer end of said shaft terminating in a socket threaded to receive a spindle of a lapping tool, a first bevelled gear mounted upon the inner end of said shaft for rotation within said chamber, said crown portion having a central opening formed therethrough, a second bevelled gear adapted to rotate in said chamber in mesh with said first bevelled gear, said second bevelled gear having a shaftreceiving hub extending through and floating in said central opening, said lateral flange being rabbeted to define a plurality of concentric shouldered seats including an inner seat and an outer seat, a sealing plate sealed against said inner seat, an adapter plate seated against said outer seat, each of said plates having a central opening formed therein in axial alinement with said shaft-receiving hub for affording free passage for a drive shaft of a jewelers polishing machine when extended through said chamber into said shaft-receiving hub to drive said gears and said first shaft about an axis positioned at right angles to said drive shaft, said casting being rockable about the axis of rotation of said drive shaft under control of said adapter plate to vary the angular position of said first shaft, means for locking said casting to said adapter plate, said chamber defining a bath for containing oil for lubricating said gears, an oil seal positioned in said shaftway to prevent the escape of oil along said first shaft, a second oil seal positioned in the central opening of said crown portion to prevent the escape of oil along said shaft-receiving hub, and a third oil seal positioned in the central opening of said sealing plate to prevent the escape of oil along said drive shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,958,734 Woodsmall May 15, 1934 2,458,840 Eklund Ian. 11, 1949 2,629,210 Robinson Feb. 24, 1953 

